Warning device for telephone-booths and the like.



A. E. AYER. WARNING DEVICE FOR TELEPHONE BOOTHS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.25, 1913 Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

UNITED STATES PATENT ormon.

ALTON E. AYER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, .ASSIGNOR- OF ONE-HALF TO JOHNIBAXTER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

WARNING DEVICE 'FOR TELEPHONE-BOOTHS AND THE LIKE. V

toll stations, by patrons forgetting to pay the ptoper toll after usingthe telephone; and this happens even when the pay station operator issitting close at hand.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide means forautomatically reminding the customer .of the toll charge at the 1 timeof his departure from a booth; and it is a further object to do this bya method that will be both certain .and inoffensive.

More particularly it is the object to accomplish this by a device actingwhen the door of the booth is opened for the customers departure; andthe invention provides means by which the warning may the repeated oneor more times, thereby urging the matter insistently on the attention ofthe departing customer. This is accomplished by providing a speciallatch, operated by the same handle which operates the ordinary latch ofthe door, the operation of which special latch results in throwingconspicuously into view asign with a suitable inscription thereon; therepeated operation of the latch being required in order to open the doorenough for the customer to go out.

The method of carrying out the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective of apparatusembodying the invention, showing its position when the door is closed;and Fig. 2 is a similar perspective, showing the position of parts whenthe door is being opened.

Referring to the drawings 10 indicates the door of a booth 11 which may,when used for the purpose assumed, be either-a tele phone pay stationwith coin boxes or other appliances controlled or observed from adistance by a telephone :operator, or may be a booth under directpersonal supervision of an operator as is customary in hotels.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filedFebruary 25, 1913.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913. Serial No. 750,523.

12 is a knob or handle operating a customary latch 13, and 14 is asquared shaft forming part of the handle for operating the latch andturned by the knob, all this being after the customary style ofconstruction, or approximately so.

The new elements of structure added by the invention comprise a lightbar 15 having :a square hole .15 through which the squared portion ofthe door handle 14 passes, the squared sides of the shaft engaging thesides of the slot in such manner that the turning of the handle willalso turn the bar, throwing its remote end up or down, according as thehandle is turned. The remote endof the bar lies toward the hinge edge ofthe door, and is arranged suitably so that when down, which is theposition of rest of the handle, the part 17'soon to be described,

which it actuates, is engaged as a latch in a.

stationary part 16 on the booth, thus latching the door 10, this latchbeing released when the bar is lifted by the turning of the handle 12.In the form illustrated the end of the bar 15., near the hinge edge ofthe door is connected through a link 19 with another bar 20, which, aswill be described later,'is also a sign carrying bar, pivoted to thedoor at 18, and carrying at its hinge end a nose 20 adapted to engageand slide upon a cam surface 17 on the latch 17, the latter beingpivoted at 17 on the door. When swung down into the position illustratedin Fig. 1, which is the position it tends normally to assume underinfluence of gravity, this latch,

17 engages the teeth 16' of rack 16, but is lifted out of engagementwhenever the turn ing of the handle 12 and bar let lifts the bar 15sufiiciently to swing the nose 20 down along the cam surface 1'? enoughto raise the latch 17 above the teeth 16. The rack 16 is so arrangedthat its first tooth engages the bar and thus latches the door whenthedoor is not quite closed, although it may be arranged to engage it atany desired position; and so that the next tooth engages the bar whenthe door has been opened a little; and third when it has been opened alittle farther; after which, in the form of the invention illustrated,the door is completely .unlatched. The rack consequently is arranged insuch direction that it underlies the path of the latchlY'; and its teethmay be shaped, as illustrated, so that the turning .of the handle torelease the latch is the most convenient means of manipulating thedevice and is naturally adopted, but nevertheless is not the only means,it being possible by the exertion of suflicient force to push the doordirectly open. In that case the latch 17 will ride up on and over theteeth of the rack 16, which, for that purpose, are made with facesslightly sloping, so that more than ordinary force is required to pushthe bar past them. This however, is merely a safeguard againstimprisoning a person who does not understand that he is expected to turnthe handle again to get out; and under ordinary circumstances theyseverally engage and hold the bar and door until the bar has been re- 7leased by turning the handle 12.

A further element of the device is the sign-carrying bar 20. This, asabove described is pivoted at 18 on the door 10 and is capable ofswinging u and down about its pivot under control of the bar 15, towhich it is connected through link 19. The link is connected near thehinge end of bar 15, to a point not far from the pivot 18 of bar 20, sothat a slight turning of the handle 12, communicated through the squaredbar 14: and multiplied through the length of the bar 15; and then againapplied through the ratio of distance from the pivot 18 to the link 19as compared with the distance from the pivot 18 to the sign carrying endof the bar 17 is sufficient to throw the sign 21 from a lowered andinconspicuous position into a raised and conspicuous position.

In operation the customer who has used the telephone, and is about todepart, finds that the door sticks, not being fully released by therelease of the customary spring latch neXt the knob 12, and this is truewhere the customer has either been talking with the door closed or withit slightly ajar, as some customers prefer for purposes of ventilation.Upon turning the handle to release the door the sign 21 is thrown upinto view. The door can then be opened, but upon the letting go of thehandle the sign 21 falls again to its inconspicuous position, and thenext notch of the rack soon engages the latch 17 stopping the door againuntil the customer again turns the latch, which results in throwing thesign up before him again. This may be repeated if desired by providingadditional notches in the rack. The notches may be formed with the teethflat on top, so that when the latch has been raised it stays up a littlewhile, even after the handle has been let go, as the door is opened, butsoon the next notch becomes engaged. The backs of the notches are formedof so gentle a slope that the door may be closed without effort andwithout being caught or held by the latch. The bar 17 and the sign whichit carries may preferably be made of as light material as is feasible.Obviously the sign may bear any inscription that-is desired. It is alsoobvious that the device may be placed on other doors and used in otherconnections from that described, and may, for example, be used foradvertising purposes.

1Vhile the invention thus far described is purely mechanical and has noconnection with the telephone operatorand serves as a notice to allcustomers, whether they have paid or have not paid, being in the natureof a reminder, it may be adapted for use in connection with a telephonesystem so that it will be operated only when the customer has not paid.In such cases the inscription on the sign might be that illustrated, orit might, for example, be Please return and speak with the operator. Themethod of accomplishing this adaptation is illustrated at the right inFigs. 1 and 2, wherein the rack 16 is pivotally mounted at 16, so thatgravity holds it normally below and out of reach of the latch 17. It maybe moved into operative position, where it will engage said bar (whichis the position illustrated), by means of a magnet 2 1- controlled bywires 25 that communicate through the wiring of the telephone systemwith the operator who, at a distance, is in charge of the station. Inthe case, for example, that such operator perceives that the customerhas used the instrument longer than the period originally paid for, andis departing from the instrument without paying for the balance, theoperator may set the warning apparatus into action by simply switching acurrent through magnet 24:, thus calling the customer back to theinstrument. For any such installation, the teeth of the rack may, ifdesired, be formed so as to interpose a really serious obstacle to thedeparture of a customer, and even so that the door cannot be openedwhile the operator keeps the rack in its operative position.

The details of the cam 17 maybe designed according to the effectdesired, and indeed some other connection may be employed in place ofthis. As illustrated the cam surface is nearly about a true are aboutthe center 18, with a notch at its upper end in which the nose 20 enterswhen the latch is down. The under side of this notch is engaged when thenose 20 is depressed, and a quick lift imparted to the latch 17. afterwhich its movement is slight. This lift may be made as slow as desired,by the proper designing of the cam by entering the slope of theunderside of this notch farther down the cam.

I claim:

1. The combination, with a door, a latch, and a handle operating it, ofanother latch arranged near the hinge of the door; means connecting thesecond latch operatively with the said handle; the second latchoperating after the door has been released from the first mentionedlatch; and a sign, movable from inconspicuous to conspicuous position,engaged with and arranged to be so moved by the operation of saidconnecting means.

2. The combination, with a door and a handle rotatable thereon, of alatch arranged near one edge of the door; a part arranged on theadjacent wall and adapted to be engaged by the latch; a bar projectingfrom and moving with the handle; a cam connection between said bar andsaid latch, where by considerable movement of the bar produces butslight movement of the latch; and a sign, movable from inconspicuous toconspicuous position and connected to the end of said bar remote fromthe handle.

3. The combination, with a door and a handle on the door, of a latcharranged near one edge of the door; a rack arranged on the adjacent wallwith a series of notches in any of which the latch may engage while thedoor is partially open; a bar projecting from and moving with thehandle; a connection between said bar and said latch arranged to operatethe latch when the handle is operated; and a movable sign controlled bysaid bar.

l. The combination, with a swinging door, of a latch handle arrangednear the edge of the door; a part on the adjacent wall with which saidlatch engages to retard the open ing of the door while the door ispartially open; a part connecting the latch handle and the latch,movable to release the latch; and a sign, thrown into conspicuousposition by movement of said connecting part.

5. The combination, with a door, and a latch holding it closed, of anauxiliary latch holding it when partly open, operating connections fromthe handle of the first latch to the auxiliary latch; and a sign movedby the connections that release said auxiliary latch.

6. The combination, with a swinging door, of a latch at the hinge edgethereof adapted to engage a stationary part on the adjacent wall; arotary handle near the free edge of the door and a bar extending thencetoward the hinge edge and swung by rotation thereof of said handle; apart pivoted to the door, intervening between said bar and said latchand connected to the end of the bar which is toward the hinge, wherebyupon turning the handle a magnified movement is 'communicated to saidintervening part; a sign, moved by and partaking of said magnifiedmot-ion, and means connecting said bar to the latch to operate thelatch.

7. The combination, with a door and a latch therefor, of a part on theadjacent wall adapted to be engaged by the latch; releasing means forthe latch, arranged on the door; and a sign actuated by movement of saidreleasing means; the said part on the wall being pivotally mounted andcombined with electro-magnetic means for controlling its position asbetween operative and inoperative positions for engagement with saidlatch.

Signed by me at Boston, Mass, this twentieth day of February, 1913.

ALTON E. AYER.

Witnesses JOSEPH T. BRENNAN, ANNA B. LINDSAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

